


the road to a happily ever after

by JacksonCalico



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, F/F, Fluff, Medieval AU, Plot? Maybe, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, guard! yang, princess! blake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:22:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21807376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacksonCalico/pseuds/JacksonCalico
Summary: Yang is a guard assigned to escort Princess Blake Belladonna to and from the kingdom of Vale
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 16
Kudos: 254





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> back with more medieval bees
> 
> This is the first time I've actually written a multi-chapter fic, so I hope it goes well
> 
> anyway gay rights and stan Bumbleby

Blake Belladonna was a princess.

She was the only daughter of King Ghira and Queen Kali, the only princess in Menagerie, and the only heir to the throne, future leader of the kingdom. 

A natural-born diplomat, people called her, and she was known to travel with council advisors to neighboring kingdoms, to discuss all kinds of matters with fellow leaders. 

But her next trip was going to be different. 

It would be her first time leaving the kingdom alone.

No council advisors, no fellow diplomats. Just Blake, and whichever guard her parents and the general decided to send with her. 

-

“Vale?”

Blake looked up at the towering figure of her father, ears flicking on top of her head.

Ghira nodded, shuffling papers on his desk. 

“We need to agree on a new trade deal with the kingdom of Vale. We would send the treasurer, but he’s already out on a business trip and we need to settle this as soon as possible. The council and I decided to send you in his place to meet with King Ozpin and come to an agreement.”

Blake nodded, watching her father stand up from his desk and walk around it to come stand in front of her. 

“You leave next week, and you’ll be escorted to Vale by a guard of the general’s choosing.”

Blake nodded again, and her father raised his hands up to rest them on her shoulders. 

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. We’re not going to force you to go, it’s just on option, if you’re willing to take it.”

Blake shook her head. “No, I’ll go. I’ll meet with King Ozpin.”

Her father smiled down at her, and Blake returned his smile easily.

Her first trip out of Menagerie without a council advisor, her first trip to the kingdom of Vale.

It was going to be an eventful next couple of weeks.

-

Yang Xiao Long was a guard. 

A soldier, trained to serve and protect the royal family. 

Yang’s job was to protect the ruling monarchs and their heir.

It was what she was trained to do, what she was paid to do. She was a guard, and her one job was to protect the royal family from harm.

Her job was to keep the Belladonnas safe.

She just never expected that her job also included escorting the family heir to another kingdom. 

-

“Vale?”

General Ironwood nodded. “Their royal highnesses requested that I choose a guard to escort the princess to Vale.” He briefly glanced up from his desk, from where he had been reading reports. “And I picked you.”

He signed off on one of the reports he had been looking at. “Your job is to bring the princess to and from the kingdom of Vale. You’re the only guard assigned to this mission, so I expect that you’ll keep her safe.”

He looked up at her again. “Understand?”

Yang nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Blake Belladonna, princess of Menagerie, was known for her sharp wit and beauty throughout the kingdom. 

Yang had never met the princess before, but that was going to quickly charge.

Because now she was going to be spending the next few weeks trying to keep her safe.

-

“Did you know I was leaving?”

Weiss nodded, gaze drifting up from the papers in her hands to look at Blake. “The council came to the decision yesterday.” She looked back down at her papers. “I’m going to assume you accepted the offer.”

Blake sighed, wringing her hands together. “Yeah, I did. I leave on Monday.”

Weiss lowered her papers, concerned clear on her face. “Are you okay? You sound a little ...off”

Blake gave the other woman a reassuring smile. “I’m fine, just a little nervous I guess.”

Weiss gave her an encouraging smile. “You’ll do fine Blake, there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Right….”

Blake only hoped that Weiss was right.

-

Three days before she was scheduled to leave for Vale, Blake learned the name of the guard who was going to be escorting her.

Her guard was going to be a woman around her age, a woman named Yang Xiao Long. 

Blake had never met her before, and she wouldn’t till the morning they left. 

Blake was completely in the dark about her escort. All she knew was her name and rank, small details about a woman she was going to be spending the next two to three weeks with. 

Her parents had said that Yang was one of the General Ironwood’s most trusted guards, a rather uncommon occurrence for the general. 

Yang Xiao Long, the name of a woman Blake would soon be able to put a face to.

Blake only hoped that she would be able to get along with her, or the next few weeks would be a nightmare. 

-

Blake decided to packed light for the trip.

Just a couple of shirts, a few pairs of pants, underwear, some money, and a book she had been meaning to finish. Her father would be giving her the needed legal documents the next day, just before she left.

Blake double-checked her bag, sifting through it to make sure she had everything she needed.

When she was sure she’d packed everything, she closed up her pack and set it down on the floor next to her bed.

Tomorrow, she would leave for the kingdom of Vale, on her first business trip out of the kingdom on her own.

Tomorrow, she would meet Yang.

-

Yang dropped her packed bag onto her bed and sat down, running her hand through her hair.

Tomorrow, she would leave on a mission to escort Princess Blake Belladonna to Vale. 

Tomorrow, she would meet the princess, and then thereon out, for the next two weeks, would be the sole person in charge of keeping her safe.

Yang signed, flopping back onto her bed, rubbing her face tiredly.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

-

Early the next morning, Yang made her way down to the stables to see if the horses were prepped.

“Horses are almost all set, just need to finish tacking up Ember Celica. ”

Yang smiled at him, grin easy and laidback. “Thanks, Sun.”

The monkey faunus sent her a two-fingered salute in return, tail swishing behind him cheerily. 

“Xiao Long.”

Yang looked behind her at the sudden call of her name. The general stood in the doorway of the stables, pocket watch in hand, watching Yang through steely eyes.

He gestured outside, and Yang followed him out of the stables.

“I just want to go over the details of the assignment one more time before you leave.”

Yang nodded, and the general continued, glancing at his pocket watch briefly.

“The princess has to be in Vale in three days time, and you’ve been trusted to bring her there safely.” The general reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it over to Yang. “I’ve gone ahead and highlighted the quickest route to Vale on this map.”

Yang unfolded the map, noting the clearly marked red line that should lead her and the princess to and from Vale. It was a main road, one often used by people traveling between the two kingdoms. It would be the quickest and easiest way for them to get to Vale. 

The general looked at his pocket watch again. “The princess should be here soon.” He slipped the watch back into his pocket. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Yang saluted the general as he left, slipping the map into the pocket of her jacket as he disappeared around the corner and out of her sight.

Hopefully, this trip would go exactly as planned.

-

Kali greeted Blake with a hug the next morning.

“I’m going to miss you.” Kali said as she pulled back.

“Mom,” Blake said, a small smile on her face. “I’m only going to be gone for a few weeks, not a few months.”

Kali laughed quietly. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss you.”

Both mother and daughter looked up at the approach of the final member of the small family.

Ghira wrapped his arms around both his wife and daughter, hugging them tightly. 

“Dad.” Blake said, smile betraying her fake annoyance. 

“Come on sweetheart, this is the last time we’re going to be seeing you for two weeks. Let us show you a little bit of parental love.”

Blake rolled her eyes, laughing quietly.

“I’m going to miss you guys too.”

-

Ghira passed Blake a nearly empty leather satchel a couple of minutes later.

Two books lay inside, and Blake recognized them both fairly quickly. One of the books was filled with records of trade in and out of Menagerie, and the other, was documentation of Menagerie’s finances in the last couple of years. 

“These are the legal documents you’ll need. I trust you’ll keep them safe.” He said, passing her a handful of carefully folded pieces of paper.

Blake nodded, gingerly placing the papers in the satchel, before reaching out and grabbing a couple of wax-sealed envelopes her father was handing over to her. 

Blake made sure the papers were secure, placing them in between the two books, doing her best to make it so the papers wouldn’t get crumpled in the bag.

Ghira handed her two final sheets of paper, one an opened letter, bearing the crest of Vale, and the other carrying the seal of the Belladonna family.

“These should provide you with diplomatic immunity inside the kingdom of Vale. They’ll get you inside the palace, and should protect you if need be.”

Blake nodded as she carefully slipped the letters into the inner pocket of her jacket.

Ghira signed, pulling Blake into a final hug.

“Stay safe.”

Blake hugged him back tightly.

“I will.”

-

“Yang, the horses are ready.”

The voice of the stablehand brought Yang back inside the stables. 

The two horses they were going to be taking to Vale were readily tacked up, supplies secure on their backs. 

Yang thanked the stablehand, and he waved her off politely. 

“It was no problem. Just doing my job.”

Yang smiled at him. “Still appreciate it.”

Sun grinned at her, long monkey tail swishing happily behind him. 

Sun passed her the reins, following close behind her as Yang lead the two horses outside into the courtyard. 

“Be careful out there. I heard Vale’s supposed to be getting some heavy storms soon.”

Yang hummed thoughtfully. “You don’t say.”

Sun nodded. “My buddy Neptune lives near the border. He visited a couple days ago and said it’s getting close to the rainy season.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“No problem.” He grinned cheerily.

Yang only hoped she and Blake wouldn’t get caught up too heavily in the storms. 

-

When Blake entered the stables courtyard, a tall, unfairly attractive blonde woman was there.

She was talking to one of the stablehands, the reins of two horses clutched in her hands. Blake couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she immediately knew who the woman was.

Yang Xiao Long.

She had her back turned to Blake, long blonde hair cascading down her back, partially obscuring her dark blue jacket. Blake didn’t even have to see her face to know she was pretty.

The stablehand Yang was talking to noticed Blake a few moments later, and the guard turned around to face the faunus woman.

Bright, lilac eyes locked with hers, and Blake instantly knew she was right about something. 

Yang Xiao Long was, in every sense of the word, beautiful.

-

The rumors were true.

Princess Blake Belladonna was beautiful.

Short black hair, shining gold eyes, fair features, cat ears standing straight on top of her head. Form-fitting black pants, scuffed up boots, long jacket pulled tightly around her. 

She was pretty, absurdly pretty, by far one of the prettiest girls had ever seen.

And Yang was going to be spending the next two weeks of her life with her.

May the gods have mercy on her poor heart. 

-

Yang barely noticed Sun leaving, her focus completely and utterly on the princess. 

“Hi.” Yang greeted nervously, face tinting pink.

One of Blake’s ears flicked. “Hello,” A pause. “You must be Yang.”

Yang nodded, trying her best not to think about how pretty Blake’s voice was. “And you’re Blake.”

Blake smiled at her, crossing the courtyard tentatively, one hand clutching at the satchel slung over her shoulder, the other gripping the strap of her bag.

Blake let go of her bag’s strap, sticking her hand out to Yang. Yang accepted the handshake, and Blake didn’t even bat an eye when cold metal met her skin. 

Yang passed Blake one the horse’s reins. “Ready to go?” 

Blake nodded, accepting the reins.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

-

Blake wasn’t surprised when Yang offered to help get up on her horse. 

Yang was chivalrous, a fact about the blonde woman that Blake wasn’t all too shocked to find out about. 

It was a kind gesture, a gesture that Blake easily accepted. 

Gambol Shroud was a tall horse, and Blake graciously appreciated the boost Yang’s intertwined fingers gave her. 

Once Blake was securely seated in the saddle, Yang moved to mount her own horse, and Blake watched silently as Yang expertly got up on her horse. 

Yang nodded at her, and Blake nodded back.

And then they were off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey to Vale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it should be said that I did not proofread this chapter before posting it
> 
> I am very gay and very tired and I regret nothing

Vale, was a two to three days travel away from Menagerie. 

“One of the stablehands said it’s supposed to storm in Vale while we’re there. If we’re quick enough, we can make it to the palace before the worst of it starts.” The guard glanced behind herself at Blake. “That okay?”

Blake nodded, and the guard smiled at her, folding up the map and slipping it back into the pocket of her jacket. 

They had just left the city limits of Kuo Kuana, Menagerie’s capital, and were now swiftly heading north, in the direction of Vale. 

They would probably reach the border midday tomorrow, and hopefully, there wouldn’t be any soldiers there to hold them up. 

Blake wasn’t too worried about having to use the two letters secured safely in her jacket. Menagerie was on rather good terms with Vale, and there really should be nothing to worry about.

If anything happened, Blake had Yang to protect her, so she wasn’t particularly afraid about the journey ahead. 

This was supposed to be an easy trip. Get to Vale, settle a trade deal, go home on time. It shouldn’t take more than two weeks.

Blake watched Yang’s back silently, at the wild blonde hair slightly tousled by the wind. 

Hopefully, Yang would be able to make the journey to and from the neighboring kingdom bearable. 

-

It’s awkward at first.

Neither really know what to say to each other, how to interact, how to make the long silences that exist between them fade away.

Yang is nervous because not only is Blake stupid cute, she’s the goddamn princess. This is the woman that will take over the kingdom one day, and Yang is the only person responsible for her safety. Blake’s safety comes before Yang’s infatuation. 

Blake’s everlasting beauty doesn’t fail to make Yang even more nervous than she already is. Pretty girls have always been a weakness of Yang’s, and the princess is no different. 

Blake was nervous because this is the first time she’s left the kingdom on her own. Yang is the only person she has to keep her company, and if she somehow messes up talking to her, Blake will practically be alone. 

Blake was also partially nervous of the journey ahead, of the meeting she’ll have to attend, the decisions she’ll have to make. 

It’s a stressful trip, and Blake would give anything to be able to hold at least a single conversation with her blonde companion. 

-

Blake can’t take it anymore and asks Yang a question.

A simple question, a question that hopefully would start a conversation, and end this uncomfortable silence once and for all. 

“Why did you become a guard?”

Blake knows the sudden question catches Yang off guard, but it does what she hoped it would.

It starts a conversation, and that conversation stems into another conversation, and then another, and then they’re talking as if they hadn’t just met a couple of hours ago. 

Yang has an honest soul, and it’s an aspect of her that Blake finds herself readily appreciating. Yang answered every one of her questions truthfully and willingly, so Blake kept asking.

Yang was actually from Patch, a small island often the coast of Vale. She had moved to Menagerie a couple of years ago, and joined the palace guards with minimal difficulty. 

“My dad and sister still live in Patch, but it’s close enough to Menagerie that I can still visit.”

Talking to Yang was easy once they got into the flow of things, but Blake honestly should have expected it when Yang started asking her questions. 

Yang already knew about Blake’s upbringing and her family, but the blonde seemed eager to find out more about Blake’s life, and Blake quickly found herself unable to say no to that face.

So Blake told Yang about her hobbies, the books she read, the people she knew, the places she’d been, and Yang listened to every word of it attentively.

They slipped from strangers, to acquaintances, to practical friends with ease. 

Blake only wondered how much closer they would get, if this was where they were at on the first day.

-

If Blake was going to be friends with Yang, she’d much rather have the guard call her by her name than princess.

“You sure?” Yang asked, a nervous smile on her face.

“Of course.” Blake smiled. “I like it when people call me Blake.”

“You do know I’ll probably still call you princess sometimes, right?”

Blake laughed, smile broadening. “Yeah, but at least I tried to get you to stop.”

“You’ve got me there, Blake.”

Blake tried not to think about how her heart fluttered when she heard Yang say her name. 

-

They come across a stream a couple of hours later, the sun setting lazily on the horizon, and decide to stop and set up camp for the night.

Blake’s never really set a tent before, and Yang takes it upon herself to teach the princess how. 

With Yang’s gentle guidance and expertise, they get the tent set up in no time and Yang starts a fire while Blake feeds the horses. 

Blake watches her blonde companion quietly out of the corner of her eye, taking in the sight of hyper-focused eyes, concentration clear on her face and she lights the fire.

Blake swore her hair glowed in the soft light of the fire, eyes reflecting the gently dancing flames. She’s unfairly pretty, and Blake has to force her gaze away from her in order to continue feeding the horses. 

When Blake returned to Yang’s side a couple of minutes later, the guard had already started dinner. 

Blake insists on helping her, despite the blonde’s weak protests, and not too long later, they’re both sitting close together, knees touching, enjoying the meal they had both made together. 

It’s nice and quiet, a comfortable silence finally achieved between them, and it’s only when Blake’s slipping into bed that she breaks the silence.

“You’re going to stay up the whole night?”

Yang hummed, nodding, adding a couple of sticks to the fire. “There’s no one to switch watch shifts with, so I’m staying up.”

“I’ll take a shift.” Blake said immediately. 

Yang’s gaze snapped over to her, eyes disbelieving. “You’ll do that?”

Blake nodded. “You need to sleep too. I don’t mind waking up later to take watch.”

Yang looks like she was about to protest, but before she could say anything, Blake cut in. “I insist. Consider it an order, from your princess.”

Yang sighed, but Blake saw the small smile on her face.

“Then I guess I have no choice, princess.”

-

Yang wasn’t all too worried about Blake taking watch. 

The princess could no doubt take care of herself, and Yang knew she would wake her if there was trouble.

Yang didn’t even make an attempt to stop the smile creeping onto her face as she thought of the pretty faunus sleeping just on the other side of the tent wall. Blake’s genuine curiosity about her life had surprised Yang, and she could only hope that she would continue to get to know the princess better as they continued their journey to Vale. 

Yang was attracted to Blake, and she couldn’t deny that even if she tried. 

Maybe she didn’t even want to. 

-

A gentle hand nudged Blake awake a couple hours later. 

She opened her eyes to see Yang peering down at her, a small smile on her face. 

“It’s time for your shift.” She whispered, removing her hand when she noticed Blake had woken up, smile turning nervous, hand coming up to rub the back of her neck.

Blake nodded groggily, and a couple of minutes later, she found herself sitting in front of the fire, Yang settling down to sleep somewhere in the tent behind her. 

Blake had left the tent flap partially open, just in case she needed to wake Yang in a hurry.

The night was quiet aside from the soft chatter of bugs, crackling of the fire, and the soft snores of Blake’s sleeping companion. 

Blake glanced behind her at Yang, smiling to herself at the guard’s serene face, all tension gone from her soft features. 

She’s beautiful, even in her sleep, and Blake can feel the blood rushing to her face as she realizes she’s staring. 

It was going to be a long night.

-

They wake up early the next morning, and pack up camp as quickly as they can.

Breakfast is a short affair, and as soon as they're done eating, Yang’s dousing the fire and starting to pack up.

They need to be on the road as soon as possible if they want to make it Vale on time. 

Blake feeds the horses again while Yang takes down the tent and secures their supplies on the horses’ backs. 

Blake once again accepts Yang’s offer to help her mount Gambol Shroud when they’re ready to go. It’s cute, how eager Yang is to help her, and when Blake tells her this, the blonde blushes like crazy, and even though Blake doesn’t get a response, it’s a win in her book.

-

Blake barely even realizes how close they’ve gotten in only a day and a half.

Talking and joking around with Yang, came to her naturally, more so than anyone else she’d ever met. 

She had only met the other woman yesterday morning, and had spent the first two hours after meeting her in pure silence. Blake was used to starting conversations with strangers, it was how she’d been raised, what she’d been expected to do, but never before, had she found that talking to someone could be so easy.

Only now, is she realizing that Yang is different from anyone else she had ever met.

Only now, is she realizing just how close they’d gotten in just a couple of hours.

Only now, is she starting to realize that she wishes to be even closer than they already are.

If only she had realized, in that moment, that maybe she was falling in love with Yang. 

-

So far, they hadn’t passed by anyone on their way to Vale.

It gave them some privacy, the perfect opportunity to get to know each other undisturbed by other people. 

But they do eventually cross paths with someone, a couple miles from the border. 

It was a merchant, seated at the reins of a horse-pulled wagon, coming towards them from the direction Vale.

Blake was quick to notice how Yang became defensive the moment they saw him, sitting more upright in her saddle, gaze locked on the approaching figure, strategically putting herself between Blake and the incoming wagon. Her hands weren’t on her weapons, but Blake was sure that if the man made any threatening advances towards them, she would grab them in less than a second. 

But the man did no such thing, barely acknowledging them aside from the courteous tip of his worn hat and a friendly smile on his face. 

Yang merely nods at the man, and they continue on their way to Vale without so much as a second glance behind them.

-

Vale was beautiful.

They’d crossed into Vale a couple hours ago without issue, and were now making their way towards the kingdom’s capital city of the same name. 

Vale had always been known for its scenery, lush forests and looming mountains, and Yang had to admit that the kingdom was beautiful. Yang had been born in the kingdom, so the magnificent views that Vale could behold had long since been engraved into her mind. 

Blake, however, was looking around in childlike wonder. 

“It’s so pretty….” The princess whispered in awe. 

Yang laughed quietly to herself as Blake continued to look around at the scenery.

“Yeah, it is.”

It should be noted, that Yang was not, in fact, looking at Vale’s natural beauty, but Menagerie’s own beauty, in the form of the one and only Blake Belladonna. 

-

“Hey Blake, look.”

Yang pointed somewhere off the side, and Blake followed her gaze out into the forest.

A small herd of deer were grazing beside a stream, lifting their heads up at the sound of the horses passing by on the other side of the water.

Blake had never seen deer before. They weren’t native to Menagerie, and she’d never seen them before on her previous brief trips to Mistral.

Yang must have noticed the awed look on her face and chuckled softly, bringing Blake’s eyes away from the deer and towards the blonde, a light blush on her face.

The deer ran off into the woods as the pair traveled closer, spooked by the sight of the larger animals, and Yang’s grin grew as a disappointed frown appeared on Blake’s face.

“Don’t worry Blakey, I’m sure we’ll see more deer before we make it to the city.”

Blake rolled her eyes at Yang’s antics, but smiled nonetheless. 

-

That day passed by without incident. 

Their playful banter and conversation from the previous day continued, and the two got closer and closer together as the day progressed. Yang good-naturedly teased her a little about being so excited to see deer, but Blake couldn’t find herself to care too much.

They continue talking even as night starts to fall and they set up camp. It’s the same routine as the night before, with easy conversation filling in the spaces that were silent yesterday.

They end up staying up together, talking, laughing, enjoying each other’s company, leaning against the other, backs pressed up against a tree, Yang’s arm thrown casually over Blake’s shoulder. 

They didn’t even realize they had fallen asleep on each other till the next morning. 

-

When Blake wakes up the next morning, she’s pleasantly warm despite the slight chill in the air.

Without a second thought, she snuggles closer to the warmth, sighing against her soft pillow as a strong arm holds her closer.

Wait, arm?

Blake’s eyes shoot open and the first thing she sees is gold. 

Yang’s arm was wrapped around her waist, hand strong and firm on her hip. Blake had her face tucked into the blonde’s neck, hands curled up against her jacket. The tree against her back was hard and cold compared to the beautiful blonde sleeping beside her. 

Yang mumbled something in her sleep, stirring as Blake shifted next to her. 

“Blake?”

Yang’s eyes blinked open, squinting against the sunlight shining through the trees. 

The guard seemed to realize their predicament almost as quickly as Blake did, face flushing red as she quickly let go of Blake. “I’m sorry!”

Blake tried not to think about her own blushing face as she nervously played with the ends of her hair. “It’s fine.”

Blake tried not to think about how warm Yang had been pressed up against her, or the secure arm that had been wrapped around her waist, as she and Yang packed up camp and prepared to head out. 

She tried not to think about how much she was falling for her either. 

-

“Are those rain clouds?”

Yang followed Blake’s gaze towards the sky. Sure enough, dark grey storm clouds loomed in the distance.

Blake looked at her, that morning’s embarrassment momentarily forgotten, slightly alarmed by the coming rain. “Should we be worried?” 

Yang stared at the clouds for a second. “We’re almost to Vale. We should make it to the palace before the storm hits if we hurry.”

Blake nodded, fears barely soothed. “Then let's get to it.”

-

They reach the capital city before the rain starts, but just barely.

Dark clouds are threatening to unleash rain onto the city below as the duo hurriedly made their way towards the palace. 

There were only a handful of people left out in the streets, and none of them payed the foreign princess or her escort much attention as they rode towards the palace. 

As the palace came into view, Blake slipped her hand into her jacket pocket, pulling out the letters her father had given her. 

They were stopped at the palace gate by a guard, who ordered the pair to state their business. 

“I have a diplomatic audience with King Ozpin.” Blake handed the guard the papers when he requested to see verification, Yang remaining silent as she stood protectively off to the side. 

The guard nodded after a minute, passing Blake back the papers and ordering for the gate to be opened. 

“Right this way, ma’am.”

Blake locked eyes with Yang, nodding, and together, they entered the palace. 

Their journey to Vale was finally over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter : JacksonCalico  
> Tumblr : calicojackson576


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vale feat. pining bees and lil shit Oscar

King Ozpin welcomed them to the palace almost as soon as they arrived. 

He had been waiting for them, for how long Blake didn’t know, but she was grateful for the warmth of his palace as a guard escorted her and Yang to his office. 

His office, was drastically different from her father’s. It was barren except for a simple desk, chair, and a couple of bookcases.

King Ozpin was a strange man, Blake knew that. She’d heard it from every other diplomat from Menagerie who traveled to Vale. 

He was a tall man, with silver hair and brown eyes, sharp features and tinted glasses, always wearing a green vest and dark overcoat. His demeanor may have made him seem approachable, but three steps into his office and Blake was already on edge. 

“Miss Belladonna.” He greeted casually, rising from his chair to shake her hand. 

“King Ozpin.” She shook his hand, trying her best not to cower under his calculating gaze. 

He smiled gently at her as he let go of her hand. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to talk politics till tomorrow. I’ve just been alerted of a matter in the city that needs attending. I’m sure you won’t mind a little rest after your journey.”

Blake gave him an uneasy smile. “Not at all.”

“I’ll arrange for a room to be prepared for you and your escort. I hope you don’t mind that you’ll have to share, we’re lacking a little on guest rooms at the moment.”

Blake nodded. “That’s fine.”

The silver-haired king smiled at her once more, nodding. 

“I look forward to working with you.”

-

“We’ll be sharing a room.” Blake said to Yang as she left the king’s office.

Yang nodded, stepping closer to Blake’s side as a servant appeared around the corner.

“I’ll be showing you two to your room.”

Yang stuck close as they followed the servant down long, winding halls. The guard’s comforting warmth at her side helped calmed Blake’s nerves at being in an unfamiliar place.

The servant stopped in front of an oak wood door a couple of minutes later, bowing to the two. 

“Your things are already inside, call if you need anything, and have a nice night.”

Blake thanked the servant as Yang opened the door and stepped inside. 

“Damn, was kind of hoping there’d only be one bed.” Yang said to Blake as she joined her inside the room.

Blake stifled a laugh, nudging Yang lightly with her arm. “Is that really something you should be saying to your princess?”

Yang laughed, cheeks flushing pink. “Shut up, you were about to say the same thing, weren’t you?”

Blake rolled her eyes, making her way over to her bed.

As a matter of fact, yes, she had been about to make that joke.

But Yang didn’t need to know that.

-

“Whatcha reading?”

Blake looked up from her book as Yang peered over her shoulder, chin dangerously close to resting on Blake’s shoulder. 

Blake ignored the rapid beating of her heart at their closeness, closing the book slightly so Yang could read the title. 

“The Man with Two Souls? Never heard of it.”

Blake let out a quiet laugh. “Neither did I, until I found it in some back corner of the palace library. I figured I’d bring it along and try to finish it.”

Yang hummed, chin dropping to rest completely on Blake’s shoulder. “What’s it about?”

Blake felt her ears pull back slightly, heart pounding hard in her chest. “You really want to know?”

Yang smiled widely at her. “Of course I do. I like hearing you talk about things you’re interested in.”

Blake failed to fight off the blush that swarmed her face, couldn’t stop the smile quickly spreading on her face, couldn’t stop herself from falling a little bit more in love with the beautiful guard standing behind her. 

-

Blake’s meeting with King Ozpin was early the next morning.

Yang, to Blake’s surprise, was not a morning person, so getting the guard up before she left was a hassle.

Fifteen minutes later with a half-asleep Yang trailing behind her, Blake entered King Ozpin’s office, leather satchel secured over her shoulder. 

Yang couldn’t actually be with her during the meeting, so Blake said goodbye to her at the door.

“You’re free to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t get either of us in trouble. Don’t leave the palace, I’ll see you later.”

Yang flashed her a cheery grin, no doubt holding back a joke about Blake behaving like a doting mother. “Sounds good to me.”

And then Blake was left alone, under the calculating gaze, of King Ozpin of Vale. 

-

Even though Blake was gone, Yang still spent the day with a young royal.

She honestly should have predicted that she was going to run into him at some point, this was his home after all, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon, and without her own royal by her side.

Prince Oscar of Vale was a mystery. He had simply appeared one day, when Ozpin had named him his heir, and everyone kind of just had to go with it. 

Ozpin was a strange man, who did many strange things, so a young boy showing up and being named as his heir was hardly surprising to the people of Vale.

For all they knew, Oscar could have been there the whole time, and Ozpin just hadn’t said anything about him until he was a teenager. It wouldn't have been the first time a monarch had done something along those lines.

He was barely fifteen years old, a short kid with a freckled face, who radiated nervous energy, but Yang just assumed that was how he was with strangers.

Because that’s what she was, a stranger, and he was a kid, with a lot of questions.

“Hello.” He greeted, a shy smile on his face. 

“Hi.” Yang gave him a small wave.

“I’m Oscar.”

Yang smiled down at him. “I’m Yang.”

And that’s how Yang ended up spending the whole day with Vale’s young prince.

-

“You’re here with Miss Belladonna, right?”

Yang hummed, nodding. “Yep, I’m her guard escort.”

Oscar was a curious kid, but she couldn’t really blame him. It seemed like a trend for young royals to never get out much, seeing how Blake’s time spent out of the palace was strictly business-related. 

“She seems nice. How long have you know her?” Oscar asked, swinging his legs. He was perched on a windowsill, back pressed against the window, looking up at Yang as she leaned against the wall beside him. 

“About three days.” It seemed odd to Yang that she had only known Blake for a short amount of time because to her, it had felt so much longer than that. It was hard to think that she had only met Blake earlier that week.

Oscar seemed equally as surprised at the revelation. “Only three days? You seem to know her pretty well.”

Yang smiled nervously. “We’ve had three days to get to know each other. It’s not hard to get close to someone when you’re the only ones traveling together.”

Oscar hummed thoughtfully. “I guess that makes sense.”

Yang listened to the young prince as he babbled on about something else, a child-like joy in his eyes, and Yang couldn’t help but be reminded of Ruby when she was younger. 

Yang wondered if Blake had been like this in her younger years. 

-

Blake was exhausted by the time she made it back to her room later that day.

“Rough day?” Yang asked as Blake flopped down onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow.

“You have no idea.” Blake said, voice muffled. She felt the bed dip next to her as Yang settled down onto it beside her.

“Anything I can do?” 

Blake smiled to herself. This beautiful, sweet woman was going to be the death of her. She’d only known her for a couple of days and Blake was already growing soft for her. 

“Tell me about your day. What did you do?” Blake needed a distraction from King Ozpin and his never-ending questions and calculating gaze. The trade deal was coming along well, but there was only so much she could handle in a day.

The king had even tried to ask Blake about Yang, a question she had quickly shot down as politely as she could, trying her best to stay professional with the man even as her patience began to run thin.

Blake listened quietly as Yang described her day, her time spent with young prince Oscar, completely unaware of the loving smile on her face as she gazed at the blonde.

Blake didn’t realize it quite yet, but Yang was steadily on her way to stealing her heart.

-

Yang ends up spending the next day with Oscar.

He was a sweet kid, Yang couldn’t deny that, and he provided pleasant company while Blake is off handling business. 

Even if under those nervous smiles, he was a little shit. 

“Blake’s really pretty, but I guess you already knew that.”

Yang’s face flushed bright red, and Oscar laughed.

“You’re not denying it!”

Yang rubbed a cool, metal hand over her face. “Quiet kid.”

“You like her!”

Even if his first instinct after learning about Yang’s crush was to tease her about it, he was still a sweet kid.

-

Yang liked Blake, a lot.

Yang liked everything about her. She liked the way she laughed, how she smiled when she thought no one was watching, the little motions of her ears, the ever so adorable look on her face when Yang made a bad joke.

Yang had no idea when it happened, when her feelings for Blake had changed from a minor crush to full-on love, but that wasn't what was important right now.

She was falling in love with Blake, the beautiful, fun, sweet princess of Menagerie.

The princess, she had been tasked with protecting, even at the cost of her own life. The princess who had the entire weight of the kingdom’s future resting on her shoulders. The princess who had decided that she wanted to be friends with Yang only hours after they met. 

The princess who had so easily, without even trying, stolen Yang’s heart without her even noticing. 

Yang was in love with Blake, and she had no idea what to do about it.

-

Blake dropped her leather satchel down onto the floor of her room and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was finally over, she did it. She’d spent the entirety of two days negotiating and reviewing trade deals, and she and Ozpin had finally come to an agreement. Trade between Menagerie and Vale was once again secured. 

“How’s business?” 

Yang was sprawled out on her bed, chin resting on her prosthetic hand, watching Blake carefully through lidded eyes.

“Good. We should be able to leave tomorrow if the weather agrees with us.”

Yang hummed thoughtfully, leaning her head back slightly to peer out the window. “Don’t think it will. It’s been raining pretty lightly the last couple of days, but we’re in for a heavy storm tonight.”

Blake sighed. “Just our luck.”

Yang’s easy smile provided her with a little comfort. “Hey, look on the bright side, at least we get to spend another night in an actual bed.”

Blake rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

An extra day at the palace, meant an extra day with Yang.

Blake couldn’t bring herself to argue, given how appealing that thought alone was to her.

-

“Yep, it’s still raining.”

Blake groaned, rolling over in bed to face Yang. The blonde was seated on the edge of her bed, staring out the window as fat raindrops pounded against the glass. 

Blake was glad the worst of the storm was over. She’d stayed up most of the night curled up under her sheets, flinching at every boom of thunder and crack of lightning in the distance. 

She hated storms, always had, ever since she was a little kid, and would crawl into her parents' bed late at night, seeking comfort from the loud noises and bright lights.

“Then I guess we’re staying another day.” Blake yawned, pulling her blanket tighter around her.

“The king doesn’t mind?”

Blake pressed her face further into her pillow. “He said we could stay an extra couple days if the storm didn’t let up.”

“Good enough me.”

Blake held back a laugh at the sight of Yang slipping back under her covers, no doubt already half asleep.

Blake fell back asleep to the sound of Yang’s quiet snores, finding comfort in her closeness, even if she was across the room, and not pressed up against Blake like the princess wished she was.

-

Blake surprisingly ends up dragging herself out of bed that day, and when she finally does, she meets the youngest member of Vale’s royal family.

“Hello.”

Blake turned in the direction of the voice, coming face to face with a nervous young boy no older than fifteen.

She’d been on her way to check out Vale’s palace library. Yang had barely been awake, telling Blake to go on ahead and that she’d join her in a couple minutes. 

“Hi, you’re Oscar, right?”

Oscar’s eyes lit up, a small grin forming on his face, and he nodded. “And you’re Blake.”

And that’s how Blake’s first meeting with Vale’s young prince went.

-

It was no wonder Yang liked Oscar, he was a sweet kid. 

Yang does end up joining them a couple minutes after they first meet, a relaxed, but tired smile on her face.

“Morning.”

Blake snickered. “It’s the afternoon.”

“Close enough.”

Blake’s ear twitched in the direction of Oscar’s quiet laughter, looking over at him to see him sprouting a wide smile. 

Oscar ends up joining them in the Vale library, but neither of them mind.

He’s a sweet kid, and it turns out they both have a soft spot for Vale’s young royal.

-

The sky starts to clear up the next day, even if it’s only for a little bit. 

They both know they have to leave soon if they want to get back to Menagerie on time, so they prep to leave that morning, to begin the journey back later that day. 

“I’d be careful out there. After yesterday’s storm, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see any flooded roads or downed trees.” A stablehand said to Yang as she went to retrieve their horses. 

“Thanks for the heads up. We’ll be sure to keep a lookout.”

Blake was waiting for her outside, leather satchel slung over her shoulder, her bag secure on her back, Yang’s own pack dangling from her arms. 

“A stablehand said to look out for floods and downed trees. We might have to take a detour if the roads back are too bad.”

Blake passed Yang her bag, smiling gently. “Fine by me. You have the map, lead us home soldier.”

Blake once again accepted Yang’s offer to help her mount her horse. “You always seem so happy to help me. Who would I be to deny you the one thing that brings you joy?”

Yang snorted. “Other things make me happy.”

“Whatever you say, Yang.”

Yang would have kept their playful banter going if it had not been for the arrival of King Ozpin and Prince Oscar.

Yang tuned out Blake’s conversation with Ozpin as Oscar came over to her, his usual nervous smile on his face. 

“It was nice meeting you.”

Yang smiled. “You too kid.”

The young boy smirked. “Good luck with the princess.”

Yang let out a little laugh, shaking her head slightly. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Ready to go?”

Yang looked up at the sound of Blake’s voice. “Yeah.”

Blake smiled and nodded, and after one final goodbye to Vale’s royalty, they left the palace.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang finally start their journey back to Menagerie, but will they be able to keep their feelings to themselves, or will Vale's storm finally be the tipping point that takes them over the edge?

They hadn’t even traveled very far from the city limits when they started seeing the destruction from the storm.

It was just like the stablehand said. Broken branches and leaves were littered across the ground, a handful of downed trees lay scattered all around them, and trenches along the side of the road were flooded with water. 

“Do you think some of the roads back will be blocked off?” Blake asked as they carefully made their way around a tree that had partially fallen in the road. 

“Maybe. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were, given yesterday’s storm.” Yang briefly pulled out the map, looking at it carefully. “If there are, we can just take a detour and go through some smaller roads and towns. It’ll take longer, but at least we’ll still be moving.”

Blake nodded, trying to ignore the fluttering of her heart at the prospect of spending more time with Yang.

As much as she wanted to get back home, she wouldn’t mind spending a few more days on the road, as long as it was spent with the beautiful blonde guard.

-

“Well would you look at that, just our luck.”

Blake stared out at the road ahead of them, a large oak tree had fallen completely on the road, obstructing the path.

“Is there any way around it?” Blake asked as Yang surveyed the area. 

The guard paused for a moment, then shook her head, turning back to Blake. 

“Then I guess we’ll have to go with your plan.” Blake said, ears folding back slightly.

Blake waited silently beside the blonde as she pulled the map out to look at it. 

“If we take that path we saw earlier, we’ll hit a town by nightfall. We can stay there for the night.”

Blake nodded, remembering the road she was talking about. It was not too far back, at a fork in the road they had passed through earlier. 

“Lead the way.”

-

“Whatcha thinking about?”

Blake’s ears swiveled in the direction of Yang’s voice, and she sighed. 

“Home, I guess. It doesn’t rain a lot in Menagerie, so I’m not really used to this.”

Yang hummed, nodding. “I’ve kind of forgotten that it rains this much in Vale. It’s been a while since I’ve been back.”

Blake looked over at her companion. “You don’t go home a lot?”

Yang shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “Haven’t been back to Patch in almost a year. I’ve seen Ruby a couple of times since then, but I don’t really go back to Vale.”

Blake pauses, choosing her next words carefully. “Any particular reason why?”

Yang shrugged. “Not really, it just takes a lot of time to go back home, and I’d rather just stay in Menagerie than spend a couple of days on a boat to get to Patch.” Yang paused for a moment, and then laughed. “That, and Ruby took over our room so every time I visit I have to sleep on our shitty couch and I’d rather not do that.”

Blake laughed, and Yang smiled warmly at her.

“You’d like Ruby. It’s a shame you two will probably never meet.”

Blake raised a questioning eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? You said she visits sometimes. Next time she does, I’d love to meet her.”

“Maybe if you’re lucky, Belladonna.”

-

They’re about half-way to the town when the clouds above them start to darken. 

“You think we’ll make it?”

Yang glanced up at the sky. “Probably, the town’s not that far away. We’ll make it before it starts to rain.”

Blake nodded, shifting slightly on top of her saddle. “We can stay in an inn tonight. I’ve got some money on me that should be able to cover a couple nights if we need it.”

“What do you mean by ‘some’ money? Just how much money do you have on you to be able to afford a couple of nights?”

Blake smirked, ears flicking. “Enough.”

“Vague isn’t a good look on you, princess.” Yang chuckled, a teasing grin on her face.

“You look at me a lot?”

Yang’s face turned a deep red shade and she raised an arm up in an attempt to cover her face. 

“I don’t see you denying it.”

“Shut up, Belladonna.”

-

It’s started to drizzle by the time they make it into the nearest town’s inn.

It’s pleasantly warm inside, walls bathed in the soft light of the fireplace’s kindle. Blake followed Yang up to the front desk, one hand clasped around her leather satchel, the other shoved into her coat pocket, fingers curling around the pouch that held her money.

Their horses would be staying out in the inn’s stables that night, free of charge, but Blake and Yang would be paying to stay inside one of the inn’s rooms. 

They’re far enough away from the Menagerie-Vale border that they aren’t worried about Blake being recognized as a princess, even if Blake’s expensive-looking jacket and Yang’s weapons were enough to bring them the attention of onlookers, who would have thought that maybe, just maybe, the pair are more important than the average citizen.

But the young woman at the inn’s front desk gave them a weary smile as they approached, not even blinking an eye at the sword on Yang’s belt or the intricate gold stitching on Blake’s jacket. “What can I do for you two?”

“A room please.” 

The woman nodded, her smile turning slightly apologetic. “We have one room left, but it only has one bed.”

Blake shared a glance with Yang, nodding encouragingly despite the nervous smile on her face. They couldn’t leave the inn to look for another one, not now, not with the rain pouring outside. It would have to do for the night.

Blake slips the pouch of money from her pocket and into Yang's hand, ignoring the jolt of electricity she feels when their fingers brush.

Blake had to herself from smiling as Yang turned back to the innkeeper, forcing down intrusive thoughts about spending the night sleeping next to Yang.

“We’ll take it.”

-

Yang immediately offers to sleep on the floor once they get to their room. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Yang. There’s plenty of room for both of us.” 

Blake couldn’t deny that a part of her was insisting not only for Yang’s comfort, but her own as well. She vividly remembers when they had fallen asleep on each other a couple of days ago in the woods, how warm Yang had been, and how safe she had felt wrapped up in her arms. She wanted to feel that way again, even if it was just for a moment.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Yang smiled softly at her, cheeks flushed pink, and Blake couldn’t tell if it was from the warmth of the inn or embarrassment.

Blake is completely and utterly aware of Yang’s presence behind her, ears tilting back at every sound the blonde makes as the pair get ready for bed. 

When they finally slip into bed a couple of minutes later, it’s as awkward as they imagined. They’re curled in on themselves, backs facing, as they avoid even the slightest chance of touching each other.

Blake can feel the heat radiating off of Yang, a soothing temptation that she can barely resist. Yang shifts behind her, and her elbow momentarily makes contact with Blake’s, jerking slightly away from the faunus in surprise. 

“I’m sorry.” She said immediately, and Blake could hear the rapid pounding of the blonde’s heart clear as day.

“It’s fine.” Blake quickly replies, heart pounding inside her own chest, face red, ears flat against her head. 

When they finally fall asleep, it’s not to the sound of rain falling outside, but to the sound of each other’s steady breathing.

-

When Yang woke up the next morning, there was a warm body pressed tightly up against her.

Yang looked down, and her face turned bright crimson at the sight before her. 

Blake’s face was pressed into the crook of her neck, cat ears brushing up against the bottom of her chin, legs tangled with hers, hands clutching the back of her sleep shirt.

Blake was stupidly adorable when she was asleep, face soft, cat ears flicking lazily as she slept. Blake mumbled something in her sleep, grip tightening ever so slightly, ear smacking Yang’s chin lightly.

The last couple of days had been stressful for the princess, so Yang gently pried herself away from her, and got ready for the day, allowing the other woman a couple of more minutes of much-needed rest. 

The rain probably didn’t help. It’s been storming rather heavily since they arrived in Vale, and Yang knew it had to be doing a number on Blake if she herself was feeling the strain that came with traveling during bouts of rain. Even now, the clouds outside had only just recently seemed to calm down, still faintly grey in the sky, promising rainfall later in the day.

Yang finished buttoning up her jacket, taking a quick glance at the bed to see if the faunus had roused herself from bed yet. Blake was still fast asleep, blanket tucked tightly around her body, face buried into her pillow. 

Yang failed to fight the smile that slipped onto her face, heart speeding up in her chest as she looked at the beautiful, perfect woman she was falling for. 

-

Yang did eventually have to wake Blake from her peaceful slumber.

They needed to be out of the inn and on the road shortly if they wanted to make it to the next town before it started to rain again. 

Blake got dressed quickly while Yang reviewed their map, trying her best to note the roads they would have to be taking to get to the next town. There were dozens of smaller roads that branched out in every direction, and they had to be careful to not go down the wrong one and risk getting hopelessly lost in Vale’s forests. 

The familiar sound of Blake donning her leather satchel brought Yang’s attention away from the map and towards the princess. 

“Ready to go?”

Blake nodded, adjusting the satchel slightly and grabbing her bag. “Whenever you are.”

Blake’s eyes met hers, smiling softly, an emotion in those beautiful golden orbs that Yang couldn’t quite place.

Yang swallowed, face heating up, and she folded the map up quickly and slipped it back into her pocket, shoving down her barely contained feelings and infatuation for the other woman.

As they left the inn, and that nameless Valean town altogether, there was only one thing Yang knew for certain.

Blake Belladonna, was much better off as a thief than a princess, if she had managed to steal Yang’s heart as quickly as she did.

-

So far, they had successfully managed to avoid any other fellow travelers on their way back to Menagerie. 

They had passed by that old merchantman on their way to Vale, but their brief and silent interaction with him had been nothing but pleasant. 

But the next group of people they came across, had not been as welcomed.

Luck, it seems, was not on their side today. 

No, the next group of people was a lot more rowdy, a lot more talkative, and a lot more annoying.

It was a large family traveling together, complete with rambunctious little kids and loud, arguing adults. 

Blake’s ears twitched in the direction of Yang’s mumbled curse, and she glanced over at the blonde guard, stifling laughter at the grumpy look on her face.

“There goes our peace and quiet.” Blake whispered to her, smiling to herself when Yang’s frown slipped upwards into a tiny smile.

“Well, it was good while it lasted.”

Blake pulled her horse up closer to Yang’s, allowing the blonde guard to become a barrier between her and the incoming family, followed her lead when they slowed the horses down ever so slightly, to let the family pass right by them.

And it was fine, for a couple of seconds, the family barely paying them any attention besides a glance or two.

But then a little boy seated in his mother’s lap looked over at them, his eyes lighting up in awe and a small finger coming up to point directly at Blake.

“Momma look! That lady has cat ears!”

Blake automatically felt her ears tilt back, saw Yang’s left hand grasp the hilt of her sword cautiously, watched as the mother chuckled nervously.

“I can see that honey, but you know it’s rude to point.”

The little boy lowered his hand, muttering a quiet sorry, but his quest for knowledge wasn’t as easily quelled. “Momma, why does she have cat ears.”

“Well, sweetheart, she’s a faunus. She was born with them.”

One good thing about kids, however, was that they never questioned answers as easy as that one.

“Okay!”

His mother gave them an apologetic look, and Yang loosened her grip on her sword, and her right hand moved to settle securely across Blake’s lower back.

The boy no doubt noticed the metal hand glinting in the sunlight, and he once again lifted his hand to point in their direction. 

“Momma look!”

The mother sighed, shaking her head. “Henry, what did I just say?”

“Sorry, Momma.”

The duo were relieved when they came to a fork in the road, and the family went down a different direction than them.

“Well, that was.... interesting…” Blake muttered as the family disappeared behind the treeline. 

“I hope we never see them again.”

“Me too.”

-

“We’re lost, aren’t we?”

A pause. “No?”

“Yang!” Blake exclaimed, looking at the blonde in disbelief. “I can’t believe you got us lost!”

Yang chuckled nervously. “We’re not lost! We just don’t know where we are.”

“That’s literally the definition of lost Yang.”

Yang sighed, glaring down at the map. “Okay, so we’re a little lost. No problem, we just turn around and go back to read the road signs. We probably just took a wrong turn.”

Blake stared at her for a moment, ears flicking, before sighing and nodding. “If this doesn’t work, you’re fired.”

Yang barked out a quick laugh. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, princess. You’ll have to try harder than that. Face it, you love me.”

Yang had meant it as a joke, a nod to her own feelings for the other woman, but she doesn’t miss the way Blake’s eyes soften, cheeks tinting pink, and she rolled her eyes, smiling the whole way.

“There’s never a dull moment with you, Xiao Long.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Blakey.”

-

Yang’s plan actually ends up working, and they’re in the next town by nightfall, slipping into the closest inn just as the rain starts to splatter against the ground.

They get a room with two beds this time, and Blake can’t help but feel a little disappointed that she won’t spend the night pressed up against her own personal source of warmth.

The storm has picked up in severity by the time they settled down into bed, fat raindrops slamming into the windows as thunder boomed in the distance. 

Blake clutched the blanket tightly, ears pressed completely against her head as the storm raged on outside. She found zero comfort wrapped up underneath the blanket, her pillow doing nothing to block out the noise outside. 

She barely realizes it when she slips out of own her bed and moves to crouch on the floor next to Yang’s.

“Yang?”

Yang blearily blinks an eye open at the sound of her name, looking at Blake through partially lidded eyes. “Blake? What’s wrong?”

A lightning bolt flashes nearby, and Blake instantly flinches at the resulting rumbling sound of thunder.

Yang raised herself up onto her elbows, hand hesitantly reaching out towards Blake, inviting the faunus closer. “Hey, it's okay, you’re okay.”

Blake crawled up onto Yang’s bed, allowing the guard to pull her close, head tucked under her chin, face pressed into the curve of her neck.

“I’m sorry I just…. really hate storms.” Blake whispered into her skin, and Yang rubbed her back soothingly, whispering reassurances into her ear.

Blake fell asleep in her arms that night, tightly wrapped up around her, soothed to sleep by her gentle whispers and caresses. 

-

The clouds are still an angry dark grey when they wake up the next morning.

“Should we stay another day? I don’t think his highness would mind if we were a couple of days late.”

Blake’s ear lightly slaps against Yang’s chin at the question, and Blake hums thoughtfully, face tucked into Yang’s shoulder. 

They’re still in bed, limbs tangled together, comfortably warm and content in each other’s presence, neither bothered by their closeness.

“It’d probably be best if we leave. If worse comes to worst, we can camp out in the rain.” Blake shifts slightly, nose brushing against the crook of Yang’s neck. “Besides, I think we only have enough money to stay another night in an inn, and we haven’t even made it to Menagerie yet.”

Yang rubbed Blake’s back lightly. “Should we get to it then?”

Blake shook her head, a quiet yawn escaping her. “A couple more minutes.”

Who would Yang be to deny the sleepy wishes of her princess?

-

“You know I’m starting to regret leaving when we did.”

Yang snorted, looking over at the other woman. “And why’s that princess?”

“Rain.”

Yang laughed. “We literally just left town, it’s not even raining yet.”

“But it’s going to, and I know I’m going to hate it.”

Yang laughed, and Blake glared at the chuckling blonde. “You’re sleeping with the horses tonight.”

Blake’s smile betrayed her annoyance, and Yang grinned. 

“Whatever you say, Blakey.”

-

They’re forced to camp out a couple of miles from the Menagerie border.

Blake jolts up in her saddle as a raindrop falls and hits her nose. A couple moments later, another one lands on one of her ears. 

“We won’t make it to another town before the storm starts, right?”

“Yep.”

Blake sighed. “Camping out?”

Yang nodded. “Camping out.”

-

They find an old abandoned cave to camp out in for the night.

It’s big enough to fit both of them and the horses comfortably.

Yang sets out to search the corners of the cave for sticks to start a fire while Blake takes care of the horses, their reins secured to a pointed rock near the front of the cave.

The rain starts to come down faster as the storm picks up pace. Blake turns around at the sound of soft crackling to see Yang sitting next to their freshly started fire. 

Blake settled down beside her, arms wrapped around herself, shivering slightly. Vale’s climate was colder than anything she was used to, and the rain pouring down outside wasn’t helping. 

Yang, of course, notices the faunus’s shivers, glancing over at her out of the corner of her eye, concern clear on her face. “Cold?”

Blake flashes her a small, nervous smile, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “A little…”

Yang hesitates for a moment, before wrapping an arm around Blake’s shoulders and pulling her close. 

Yang was warm, a welcomed source of heat protecting Blake from the chilly air. 

“Is this okay?” Yang whispered, thumb gently caressing her upper arm.

Blake pressed her face into the side of Yang’s neck, nuzzling the underside of her jaw. “This is more than okay.”

Yang swallowed, thumb faltering slightly. Blake glanced up at Yang’s face, at the light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks, hiding underneath a fiery red blush blooming across her face. 

“Cute….”

The word slipped out of Blake’s mouth before she could stop it, face alighting in a blush as Yang’s eyes snapped down to her. “W-What?”

"Nothing it's just that I… I think you’re really cute…”

Blake could hear the loud thumping of Yang’s heart in her chest, nervous energy humming in her veins, lilac eyes blazing with an unidentifiable emotion. 

Cool metal brushes against Blake’s cheek, and Blake leaned her head into Yang’s prosthetic palm, smiling when the thumb rubbed her cheek tenderly. 

Blake’s heart stuttered to a stop when Yang leans down, only to moments later burst back to life when soft lips grazed her flushed cheeks. 

Yang pulled back, eyes downcast, an embarrassed smile on her face. “I think you’re pretty cute too…”

The wall that had been holding Blake back, had been keeping her feelings and emotions at bay, broke, with that simple kiss on the cheek, and that shy little smile.

Blake leaned forward and kissed Yang.

-

When Yang had kissed Blake on the cheek, she hadn't expected the other woman to lean up and kiss her.

But they always say to expect the unexpected, so maybe Yang should have seen this coming.

Kissing Blake Belladonna, was way better than Yang ever thought it could be, and she had thought about it quite a lot over the last few days.

Soft, delicate hands cupped her cheeks, nervous lips brushing against hers, warm body pressed tightly against her. 

Yang slipped her arm down from around Blake’s shoulders to wrap around her waist, thumb rubbing circles onto her clothed hip, pressing her lips more firmly against the princess’s own.

When they inevitably pulled apart, they’re both panting heavily, breath mingling together in the space between them, foreheads pressed together.

“I like you,” Blake says quietly, nervously, thumbs caressing Yang’s cheeks. “A lot.”

Yang kisses her again, a soft, lingering, peck on the lips. “I like you too.”

Blake presses their lips together, hands shifting to wrap around her neck, fingers tangling in her hair. 

They don’t say just how much they mean to each other, not now, not yet.

For now, they’re just content with kissing each other, inside a dreary old cave, hearts full of nervous, youthful love.

And when they fell asleep that night, it was wrapped up in each other’s arms, gentle kisses and caresses exchanged in darkness, to the hum of rain cascading down from the sky outside. 

-

Breakfast the next morning is eaten between sleepy kisses and loving touches.

They can’t get enough of each other. It’s a whole new feeling, for both of them, to be this close to someone in this way. It’s slightly overwhelming, but nonetheless welcomed. 

Neither of them had ever been in love before, but it’s an intoxicating feeling, and they can’t get enough of it. 

But Blake was worried. 

She was worried about the expectations that has been set for her long ago, everything she’d been told about love her whole life, everything council advisors and government officials had told her about who she should fall for.

And how Yang didn’t meet their expectations.

Yang wasn’t royalty, or a duchess, or a noble. She was a guard, a soldier, barely even a middle-class citizen. She didn’t come from a rich or well-off family. Yang came from a family of modesty, not splendor.

Everything those council advisors and government officials had told her to avoid. 

Blake tucked herself under Yang’s chin, let strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer.

“Something’s bothering you.” Yang whispered into her hair, because of course she would notice that something was wrong.

“I’m worried…” Blake murmured into her skin, hands tightening their grip on the blonde’s jacket. 

Yang pressed a kiss to her forehead, rubbing her back. “About what sweetheart?”

Blake smiled briefly at the nickname, trying to fight off the frown that threatened to destroy her momentary happiness. 

Blake took a deep breath, allowed Yang’s warmth to provide her some form of comfort, and laid out her fears.

And Yang listened, because of course she would. She let Blake whispers her fears into the space between, without interrupting, without judgement. 

“I don’t know what my parents will think… about this… about us… they’ve never really talked to me about this kind of thing before, and it kind of scares me…” 

Blake nuzzled further into Yang’s warmth, body pressed impossibly close to the blonde’s. “I’ve had suitors come to see me once or twice before… and I didn’t like them and my parents kind of just accepted that… but the council… I know they weren’t really happy about it, and I know they won’t like this either…”

Blake remembers overhearing conversations between council members about this sort of thing before, how nervous they were about her not liking suitors, or being interested in marriage. They’re nervous about the future of the kingdom, and Blake can’t blame them. She’s the only heir, it’s her job to get married and have or find the next one, to keep the cycle going.

“I’m worried that if they find out, I’ll never see you again… I don’t want to lose you, not because I cared about you too much.” 

Blake knew the consequences of secret lovers, had heard the stories of royals finding love in classes well below theirs, remembered hearing about a Mistral prince whose lover was taken away from him because she was from a poor family. The last thing she wants is for Yang to be taken away from her. 

Yang tightens her grip around her. “That won’t happen sweetheart… I won’t let that happen. We’ll make it work, I promise.”

Blake believed her, how could she not? Yang had become this little ball of joy and happiness in her life that she couldn’t imagine being without.

Blake was going to do everything in her power to keep them together.

-

They left the cave shortly after, a town only a couple of miles from the Menagerie border their destination.

They’re so close, less than a two-day journey from Kuo Kuana, from the palace, from home. 

The thought of their journey being over is certainly appealing, but the relief is greatly overshadowed by the mere thought of what will happen when they get back.

“I don’t want this to end.” Blake whispers quietly, voice barely audible over the natural sounds of the forest. “I don’t want whatever’s between us to end.”

Yang’s hand slips into hers, familiar metal providing much-needed comfort from the anxieties plaguing her mind. “It won’t, we’ll find a way.”

“Promise?”

Blake’s voice sounds so little, so small, so afraid of losing someone who’s become so dear to her heart. 

Yang lifts their joined hands and kisses Blake’s knuckles sweetly, smile sad and longing.

“We’ll get our happily ever after Blake, I promise.”

-

“Two beds?”

Yang shared a small look with Blake, a giddy buy nervous smile on her face, silent question strung up in the air between them. Blake nods, squeezing Yang’s hand lightly. 

Yang returned the gesture, and turned back to the innkeeper. 

“One bed please.”

Their last night together, the last night of their journey.

There’s no way they’d spend it sleeping apart from one another.

-

They cross the Menagerie-Vale border early the next morning. 

It’s a new, terrifying reality for them. They’ll be back in Kuo Kuana by nightfall, back to the lives they lived before their trip, before each other.

They stopped a couple miles outside the city to let the horses rest, to give themselves more time together. 

Yang presses her forehead against Blake’s, thumb rubbing the faunus’s cheek. “I’ll see you again, right?”

Blake grips her wrist gently. “I’ll find you. We’ll make it work. I’m not letting this end, not here, not now.”

One final kiss, and then they’re off again.

-

The sun is setting steadily on the horizon when they make it back to the palace.

One final glance, one final squeeze of each other’s hand, a reminder of their promise to each other.

We’ll make it work, somehow, someway.

It’s over, it’s done, their journey is over, another chapter completed in the story of their lives. 

But their story together, was only just beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bees said secret lovers rights

They’re separated from each other almost immediately upon their return. 

A member of the council comes to retrieve Blake from the stables, where they’ve dropped off the horses and their supplies, and all she can do is look at Yang one final time, before she’s being whisked away to a council meeting, having no choice but to leave Yang standing behind her all alone.

Yang has to go to the general’s office to give him a report on their trip, on the hospitality of Vale, on how well the journey went. She doesn't know when she'll be able to see Blake again, and her heart breaks at the thought alone.

They don’t even get to say goodbye to each other, and both go to bed, cold and lonely.

-

Days pass by, and they can’t stop thinking of each other. 

Blake, is a lonely person. She always has been, after years couped up in the palace, her only friend an icy but kind council advisor, the people around her all employees of her parents, she's gotten used to always being alone. 

But that feeling, the feeling of loneliness, is so much more prevalent without Yang. 

Maybe it’s because after two weeks, she’s gotten so used to never being alone, or that maybe she just misses Yang.

Maybe it’s because it feels like there’s a space beside her where Yang’s supposed to be, but she’s not, and that’s what hurts the most. 

-

Yang misses Blake.

God, fuck, she misses her. 

She misses their playful banter, her sweet smile, her pretty little laugh, her touch, her love.

She’d spent the last two weeks of her life with the beautiful princess, spent every day with her, spent every moment of it slowly falling in love with her.

And now she can’t even get so much of a glance of the woman that stole her heart.

Yang’s station has always been the outer walls of the palace. Rarely had she ever been inside the towering structure itself, where Blake was, where her very soul resided. 

It hurts so much, to find love and then to have it be taken away.

They’d promised each other that they’d make it work.

So by the gods, they were going to make it work.

-

“Blake!”

Blake jolted up, eyes blinking rapidly as icy blue eyes came into focus.

Weiss stood before her, leaning over the table Blake was seated at in the library, lips twisted into a concerned frown. 

“Are you okay? I called your name four times and you didn’t answer.”

Blake swallowed, fingers tightening on the leather cover of the book she was holding, the book she’d shared with Yang. “Everything’s fine Weiss… I’m just a little tired…”

Weiss sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “If that’s the lie you’re going to go with, then you’ve been tired ever since you got back from Vale. It’s been two weeks Blake, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing Weiss,” Blake said, forcing her attention back down to her book, fighting off memories of Yang, and warmth, and love. “I promise.”

It wasn’t nothing. Never in Blake’s life would she ever describe Yang as nothing.

Yang had started to become her everything.

-  
It takes two and a half weeks for Blake to finally break and send Yang a note.

It’s risky, but it’s a risk she’s willing to take. If anyone read her note, it’d be over for them, before wherever they had going on between them started. 

“Excuse me?”

Blake forced herself to stand tall as the errand boy turned around at the sound of her voice, fighting off the anxiety that was climbing its way through her ribcage as she held her enclosed letter out towards him.

“I need this delivered to Lieutenant Xiao Long as soon as possible.”

Blake was surprised at the lack of shakiness in her hands as she handed her letter over to the errand boy, who accepted her request without a second thought. He bowed to her, and Blake watched him take off down the hall, ears twitching uneasily on top of her head. 

She could only hope that Yang, wherever she was, received her letter, and not leave her standing all alone in the palace gardens.

-

Yang didn’t know what to expect when she saw an errand boy running towards her. 

He stopped in front of her, panting heavily, a carefully folded letter clutched in his hands.

“Lieutenant Xiao Long?” He wheezed, chest heaving as he fought to catch his breath.

Yang nodded, and he held the letter out towards her. She cautiously accepted the letter, turning it around in her hands, brows furrowing at the blank, unassuming white paper that stared back up at her. 

The errand boy took a shuddering breath, cringing slightly under Yang’s questioning glare. “Her royal highness requested that I give this to you as soon as possible.”

Yang swore her heart stopped in her chest, her eyes shooting back to the letter, metal fingers groaning in protest as her grip tightened around the thin paper. 

Blake.

Yang breathed a quiet thank you, and the errand boy left, dashing back down the hall without even a glance behind him.

Yang tore her eyes away from the letter to survey the hallway, ears straining to hear any noise coming in her direction as she forced her shaking hands to open Blake’s note.

Four words. Blake wrote her four words, but by the gods, they were the single greatest thing Yang had ever read.

East Wing Garden, Midnight.

Yang couldn’t will nightfall to come fast enough.

-

The clock tower had already started to chime by the time Yang managed to sneak out of the guard quarters. 

The palace hallways were silent aside from the loud ringing of the tower bell and Yang’s rushed footsteps, hands hastily pulling her jacket over her shoulders.

She can’t be late, can’t leave Blake waiting, not now, not ever.

The clock is on its twelfth chime when Yang steps out into the garden, cheeks flushed, heart hammering hard and fast in her chest. 

Her breath hitches when she sees her standing there, bathed in moonlight, ears perked to hear the tower’s bell, a jacket slung precariously over her shoulders, hands gripping the fabric tightly, and she’s just as beautiful as Yang remembers. 

“Blake…”

The faunus princess whirled around, and gold finally meets lilac, and then they're running. 

Blake slammed into Yang, arms flinging around the blonde’s neck, jacket slipping off her shoulders and onto the ground. Yang pulled the shorter girl firmly into her, one hand cradling the back of her head, the other wrapped tightly around her waist.

“I missed you so much.” The princess whispered into her neck, head nuzzling the underside of her chin.

Yang pulled back, hand moving to cradle Blake’s face, thumb brushing away tears that were threatening to shed. “I missed you too.”

Blake’s kisses, were just as sweet and loving as Yang had remembered. 

-

They didn’t let go of each other for the rest of the night.

Hands tightly clasped together, or an arm wrapped around a waist, or over a shoulder, bodies pressed impossibly close together. They couldn’t stop touching each other, not after being forced to spend time without each other’s presence. 

After all, they didn’t know when they would next be able to hold each other like this.

Two souls, joining as one, in a quiet little garden, with the stars in the sky as their only witnesses. 

Their promise to each other, reaffirmed, to make it work, to make them work.

The garden becomes their little secret, as will every night they spend there together will shortly become. 

-

Once a week, without fail, at midnight, they meet each other in that little garden.

It’s their place, their place to be together, to love each other. 

They’re making it work, they only way they can, in secret, but it’s enough for them.

They’re perfectly content being each other’s little secret, if that’s what it takes for them to be together. 

-

“Did you ever finish that book you were reading?”

Blake nodded, humming slightly in contentment as Yang’s fingers slid through her hair, gently undoing any tangled strands that she came across.

“I finished it last week.” She whispered, turning her head to press her cheek against Yang’s thigh, smiling as a cool hand shifts down to cup smooth over her skin.

They’re sitting in the grass, near one of the old rose bushes in the back of the garden. Blake’s using Yang’s lap as a pillow, letting the blonde guard play with her hair, their voices hushed and quiet, barely audible over the natural sounds of the night. 

“What’s the final verdict, Blakey? Was the ending as good or as bad as you thought it would be?” Yang said, brushing back Blake's bangs, tenderly caressing her cheeks.

“It was pretty good actually, way better than anything I was expecting.” Blake peeked an eye open, tilting her head back to look up at her lover. The blonde had her eyes closed, smile soft and relaxed. “You’d like it.”

Yang opened her eyes, a single, huffed laugh leaving her throat. “What makes you so sure about that, Belladonna?”

Blake doesn’t answer her, a smirk on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes. “You’ll see. I’ll smuggle it out here for you, and you can see for yourself.”

Yang laughs, shaking her head. “Pretty sure that’ll get you in trouble with the librarian, Blakey.”

Blake’s grin only grows. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

Blake does end up bringing “The Man with Two Souls” to their next meeting, and she lets Yang take it with her when they leave the garden that night.

The librarian doesn’t even notice that the book had been missing till Blake brings it back to her three weeks later. 

-

The next time they’re in the garden, Yang’s holding a small, folded sheet of paper, a wide grin on her face.

“Blake, you won’t believe what I just found.” She said, giggling.

Blake leaned into her space, looking over her shoulder at the small note she held in her hands, laughing when she reads the words hastily written on it. 

‘Good luck wooing the princess, I’m rooting for you’

Oscar’s signature was in the bottom right corner, a small smiley face messily drawn next to his name. Vale’s young prince seems to have slipped them a note. 

“He snuck it into my pack, the little shit.” Yang says in between laughs. “I was unpacking my bag and I found it tucked into one of the side pockets. I can’t believe he did this.”

Blake chuckled, shaking her head. “That’s what you get for befriending royalty. How’d he even find out you liked me?”

Yang blushed, raising a hand to rub the back of her neck. “I wasn’t exactly subtle about it. He spent like, most of our time there teasing me about it. I guess he slipped this into my bag right before we left.”

“And you’ve only just found it now? We’ve been back for over two months.”

Yang’s face reddened, and she grimaced slightly. “Okay so I may or may not have just gotten around to unpacking.”

Blake smiled teasingly up at her. “Has something been distracting you, sunflower?”

Yang’s blush only worsened, but she smiled and gave Blake a light shove, laughing. “Shut up.”

Blake giggled, curling a hand around Yang’s elbow. “So what’s the verdict soldier? Did you woo the princess?”

“You know what,” Yang said, smiling, leaning down to press a kiss to Blake’s forehead. “I think I did.”

-

They spend another night in their garden laying side by side, pressed up close to one another, hands interlocked, staring up at the stars. 

“Do you know any constellations?” Blake asks, turning her head slightly to glance at the blonde guard. 

“Nope.”

“Damn.”

Yang burst out laughing, shoulders shaking from the force of her giggles. “That’s it?”

Blake chuckled, squeezing Yang’s hand. “Yep.”

As it turns out, stargazing isn’t the best idea for a date when neither of you know anything about stars. 

At least the stars were pretty, even if they spent most of the night staring at each other and not the sky gleaming above them. 

-

Yang lets Blake play with her hair one night, completely at peace as the faunus’s fingers twist her long mane into a single, beautiful braid. 

She hadn’t let anyone touch her hair like that in a long time, not since she was a kid, not since Summer Rose had been around to do it, but she trusts Blake, loves the other woman with her entire heart, so she makes an exception. 

Besides, any excuse to have her head in Blake’s lap, was a good one in her book.

-

“I love you.”

Yang hadn’t even realized those three words had slipped out of her mouth until Blake’s eyes widen, fingers suddenly tightening their grip around her own. 

“I love you.” She says again, hand coming up to cradle the faunus’s face. “I love you, so much.”

Blake’s hand fists in the collar of her jacket, and she kisses her, hotly, fiercely, lovingly.

“I love you too.” Blake says when they pull apart, unshed tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, and then she’s laughing, a watery, happy laugh and Yang can’t help but start pepper her face with small kisses, wide smile doing nothing to discourage her from showering Blake with affection.

“I love you.” A kiss to her cheek.

“I love you.” Another one pressed against her jaw.

“I love you.” Yang breathes against her skin.

“I love you.” A kiss pressed ever so gently against the corner of her lover’s lips. 

Blake laughs, hands seeking out Yang's cheeks, pulling her in for a kiss, never letting go. 

"I love you." She whispers into the space between them, thumbs rubbing Yang's cheeks tenderly. 

It’s the first time they’ve ever said ‘I love you’, and it’s absolutely perfect. 

-

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Blake watched her mother warily out of the corner of her eye, ears tilting back under her stare. 

Kali feigned innocence, finger gliding over the spines of the library books casualty. “What do you mean, dear?”

It wasn't uncommon for Blake to find her mother in the library. The beloved queen seemed to have passed her love of reading onto her daughter, so it was never much of a shock to find them in the old palace library together.

Kali was a busy woman, but she still managed to always make time for her daughter. But right now, Blake wasn't sure if she appreciated her mother's company, especially if all the other woman is doing is staring at her.

Blake’s brow furrowed, and she sighed, turning to face her mother. “You keep looking over at me. Why?”

Kali paused, then shook her head slightly, as if to clear away an intruding thought in her mind, reaching a hand out to grasp her daughter’s upper bicep gently. 

"It’s nothing dear,” The queen smiled, eyes softening. “I’ve just noticed that you’ve been looking happier lately, that’s all.”

Blake’s shoulders relaxed, ears perking back up, a small blush forming on her face as she remembered exactly who was making her happy. 

A certain, charmingly sweet blonde guard, with whom Blake had been meeting in secret late at night for months.

Yang was making her happy, to the point where the people around her were starting to notice it. 

Blake smiled sadly at her mother, painfully aware that the queen had no idea as to what sparked this change in her, who had been making her so happy over these past couple weeks.

Kali didn’t know about Yang, didn’t know about the hours Blake had spent in a small garden, bathed in moonlight, basking in the warmth of another woman. 

Her mother didn’t know anything about the beautiful woman she had fallen in love with, and that thought alone hurt more than Blake ever thought it could.

-

A couple of days later, a suitor comes to the palace, seeking Blake’s hand in marriage. 

She refuses to even meet with him, has him sent back to wherever he came from as soon as he arrives at the palace, ignoring everything the council and it’s advisors have to say to her about the benefits their union would have brought. She spends the rest of the day alone in her room, thinking of lilac eyes and flowers, about warmth and safety, about who her heart belongs to.

Blake had never liked suitors before, but now, the mere thought of someone evening trying to take Yang's place in heart sickened her.

Yang had managed to burrow her way into Blake’s heart, had taken up residence there, had found a home in Blake’s heart that no other person could ever even dream of filling.

Blake was in love with Yang, so deeply and wholeheartedly in love with her that even a few weeks of separation from her had shaken the faunus to her very core.

Her parents come to see her when she doesn’t show up to dinner, and as much as Blake appreciates the sentiment, their presence is a stark reminder of all of her fears about her relationship with Yang, about all the possibilities of what could happen when they find out.

She goes to bed scared and lonely that night, so afraid of the future, wishing she was back in Vale, sharing a room, a bed, with the woman she loved.

-

Blake’s meeting with Yang the next day is awfully quiet.

Blake’s seated in Yang’s lap, face pressed into the side of her neck, arms wrapped around her torso. From not so subtle glances to the hands rubbing soothing circles into her lower back and shoulder blades, Blake is well aware that Yang knows something is wrong.

“I… I had a suitor come to the palace yesterday,” Blake says, hands fisting into the back of Yang’s jacket. “And the council isn’t too fond about how I… reacted.”

Yang’s grip around her tightened. “That’s… that’s bad for us, right?”

Blake nodded. “Yeah…”

They drift into tense silence, neither trusting their voices or emotions to keep the conversation going, a looming realization that they can’t keep doing this for forever, meeting in secret like this. Someone is going to find out, and their shared moments in that little garden will be no more.

Blake feels Yang's heart thudding fast in her chest, can practically hear the worried voice ringing in her lover's head, and she desperately searches for anything that she can say to quell the guard's fears.

“I’ll figure it out,” Blake says, pulling away from Yang to press their foreheads together, gold staring into lilac. “I’m not giving up on this. I love you too much for this to end here.”

Yang’s lips are achingly gentle against hers when they kiss, hand drifting upwards to cradle the back of her head, fingers running smoothly through her hair. 

Blake can’t lose this beautiful, perfect woman. 

She just can’t.

-

“What?!”

Blake’s ears tilt back, a hand coming up to rub her forearm anxiously. “I’m… dating a palace guard.”

Weiss stared at her, eyes wide, brows slightly furrowed. “Since when?”

“You remember when I took that trip to Vale?”

Weiss’s jaw dropped in shock. “Blake, that was almost five months ago!”

“I know…” Blake stared at the ground, shifting nervously. “We just… we connected on the trip… and Yang and I have just been... meeting in secret ever since…”

“What do your parents think?” Weiss asked, tense shoulders dropping when Blake didn’t respond, realization seeping into her bones at the look on Blake's face. “They don’t know, do they?”

Blake shook her head hesitantly. “I… I haven’t figured out how to tell them yet.” 

Weiss’s demeanor softened. “Blake-”

“What will they think,” Blake cuts her off, lifting her head to meet her friend’s eyes. “When they find out? What will happen when they find out?”

Weiss put a gentle hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly at her. “I don’t know Blake, but they love you. They want you to be happy, and if this guard is the person that makes you happy, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Gods I hope you’re right.” Blake’s eyes glistened with tears, and she raised her hands to rub at them. “I love her so much Weiss. I don’t know what I would I do if anything happened to her because of me.”

Weiss could only hope that she was right too, for Blake’s sake.

-

“What’s wrong, Blake?”

Blake looked down at the ground, hand coming up to grip her forearm. “What do you mean?”

Kali reached out and placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, and Blake glanced up to look at her mother’s eyes. “Something’s been bothering you lately. What is it?”

Blake couldn’t bare to look at the concern in her mother’s eyes any longer, tearing her gaze away from the queen to stare back down at the floor. “It’s nothing.”

“This is about the suitor, isn’t it?”

Blake sighed, and she nodded, ears pressing back against her head. 

Kali rubbed her upper arm gently, soothingly. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

Blake struggled to fight off the shame surging in her chest, the guilt she felt from making her mother worry. “It’s nothing mom, really, I promise.” She put on her best fake smile and raised her eyes to look back up at her mother. “I just… really don’t like suitors…”

Kali simply nodded, and Blake breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that her mother was still worried, but she was glad that she at least dropped the subject. She couldn’t broach the subject of love with her mother, not yet, soon, but not yet. 

Blake’s time alone with Yang was slowly running out, and they needed to come up with a plan fast. 

-

Their time runs out two weeks later. 

A patrolling night guard strays slightly from his post, and upon hears voices, decides to investigate, only to find the Belladonna heir kissing a palace guard lieutenant, with the ease and comfort of a couple who had obviously done it before. 

He’s so shocked, so startled at the sight before him, that he doesn’t confront them. He leaves them be, for now, but not for long. 

In the morning, he gives his complete nightly report straight to the king and queen, secret lovers included. 

And of course, the heir and the lieutenant have no idea of what’s to come. 

-

Blake’s heart was racing in her chest as she made her way to her father’s office.

It wasn’t very often that she got a direct summons to her father’s office. The last time this had happened, had been when she was sent to Vale, and that had been months ago.

But this time was different, she just knew it was.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she entered her father's office, expecting him to be alone, only to find her mother pacing up and down the length of the room, her father standing behind his desk, watching his wife silently, a large frown on his face. 

Both of their gazes snap over to Blake the moment she opens the door, their eyes unwavering as she closes the door behind herself.

“Blake…” Kali said, taking a hesitant step towards her daughter. 

Blake eyed her parents warrialy, trying and failing to ignore the rising panic in her chest. “What’s going on?”

Ghira sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. “Blake, sweetheart, I don’t really know how to go about saying this, but I bet you already know what this about."

Blake’s heart stills in her chest at her father’s next words, and every ounce of fear she’d been feeling about this situation over the past couple of months emerges, clawing its way into her chest, wrapping itself around her heart, threatening to never letting go. 

“What have you been doing in east wing garden with Lieutenant Xiao Long?”

-

“I-I can explain…”

Kali crossed the room to stand before her daughter, ears pressed back against her head.

“Blake, sweetheart, what’s been going on?” The queen said, voice wavering, and Blake dropped her head to stare down at the floor. She can’t look her parents in her eyes, can’t look up and search for the disappointment that her mind has convinced itself is surely there. 

“I… I’ve been meeting Yang in the garden because…” Blake swallowed hard, hands wringing together nervously. This is so much worse than she’d ever imagined, so much harder to do than she ever thought it could be. 

“We’re lovers,” She manages to force out, not even bothering to sugarcoat the truth. “And the garden was our only way of seeing each other without anyone knowing.” 

Blake paused, chuckling mirthlessly. “But I guess we weren’t very good at hiding.”

“A night guard saw you two last night.” Ghira sighed, looking at his daughter sadly. “Just how long has this been going on?”

“Since we got back from Vale… “

“Seven months…” Ghira said, sounding heartbroken. “You kept this from us for seven months…”

Kali, who had long since fallen silent, stepped back and raised her hands to cover her mouth. “That’s why the suitor upset you so much. You had a secret lover the whole time."

“I’m sorry.” Blake burst out, finally lifting her head to look at her parents. “I wanted to tell you, but I… I was scared… I know how the council feels about this, and I didn’t want to lose her.”

“I love her, so much. I can’t lose her, I just can’t.” Blake said, fighting back tears, shoulders shaking from the effort. 

Kali wrapped Blake up in her arms, pulling her daughter close, rubbing her back soothingly. “It’s okay sweetheart. I promise, it’ll be okay. 

She turned her head slightly to look at her husband, nodding.

Ghira crossed the room and opened the door slightly to speak to a guard standing outside.

“Fetch me Lieutenant Xiao Long, and quickly. It’s urgent.”

-

Yang was practically sprinting down the halls towards the king’s office, pace frantic and panicked.

A royal guard had suddenly appeared beside her mere minutes ago, and told her that the king requested her presence, immediately, urgently. 

The entire royal family was waiting for her inside the office, all in varying states of stress.

Blake’s ears tilted back at the sound of her entering, nervous golden eyes meeting hers. ‘They know.’ The faunus mouthed at her and Yang’s attention snapped over to the older Belladonnas.

The queen was standing close to Blake, watching Yang through calculating eyes. The king stood next to his wife, unfairly intimidating.

Yang stepped up next to Blake, hand immediately seeking hers. Blake’s grip was tight, her palm warm, providing Yang little comfort under the stares of the ruling monarchs. 

“I think you already know what this is about Lieutenant.” Ghira gruffly said to her, his eyes refusing to portray whatever emotion he was currently feeling.

“Yes, sir.”

Blake squeezed her hand, and Yang forced herself to stand tall before her lover’s parents. 

The king nodded. “Then there’s no need to sugarcoat it. You’re my daughter’s lover, and you’ve been meeting her late at night, behind the backs of your superiors, for months.”

Yang swallowed, gaze unwavering as she stared into his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

Ghira hummed thoughtfully, and his shoulders relaxed, eyes softening. “Do you love her?”

“Of course I do.” Yang instantly said, turning her head slightly to look Blake in the eyes. “More than I’ve ever loved anyone before.”

“Then I see no reason to break you two up.” 

Their eyes snapped back over to the king, disbelief clear on their faces. Ghira smiled gently down at them, Kali beaming at them from beside him. 

Blake turned, fast as lightning, throwing her arms around Yang’s neck, holding her close, tears of joy rolling down her face. 

Yang laughed, wrapping her arms around Blake’s waist, picking her up and spinning her around. 

They did it, they were going to be okay, they didn’t break their promise. 

Everything was going to be okay. 

-

“And they lived happily ever after.”

Blake closed the book gently, eyeing her half-awake daughter carefully as she set it down on the bedside table, ear flicking in the direction of the door, hearing the quiet creak of the old hinges as it was opened. 

The nine year old cat faunus yawned, curling up further into her mother’s side. “Is the story really over, mamma?”

Blake nodded, smiling to herself as she ruffled her daughter’s hair lightly. “Yes, sweetheart. It’s time for bed now.”

The small girl groaned in protest, calico ears flickly restlessly, hands tightening their grip on her mother’s sleep shirt. “But I don’t wanna go to bed yet.”

Blake sighed, glancing up at the doorway to her daughter’s room. “Yang, a little help here?”

Her wife laughed, walking over to sit on the bed, settling down on the other side of their daughter. 

“Yin, sweetie, listen to your mother.” Yang leaned down the press a kiss to the small girl’s forehead. “It’s time for bed.”

“But I’m not-” Yin broke off, yawning. “Tired yet.” 

Yang looked over at Blake, rolling her eyes slightly. “Will you go to bed if I read you another story?”

The small faunus nodded as excitedly as her tired body would allow her, and Blake leaned over and kissed her wife’s cheek, passing her the book, and slipping off the bed.

Kali was standing outside the door, laughing quietly. “It’s harder than it looks, isn’t it sweetheart.”

It had been six years since her parents had given her and Yang their blessing, four since they’d gotten married, two since they’d adopted Yin, and Kali and Ghira had fallen into the role of grandparents for her young daughter easily. 

Blake shook her head slightly, a smile on her face. “I get it, mom, I was a handful and it’s coming back to bite me. You don’t have to keep reminding me.”

The older woman smiled, ears perking up slightly at the sound of the bell tower chiming, bidding her daughter goodnight, and leaving for bed.

Yang joined her in their room a couple minutes later, a wide smile on her face, tiredly running a metal hand through her hair. 

“That was quick.” Blake said at her wife’s return, a small smile slipping onto her face. 

Yang wrapped her arms around Blake’s waist, kissing the side of her head lovingly. “She didn’t even make it through the first five pages.”

Blake shook her head, chuckling. “Only your daughter would be this much trouble before bed.”

Yang snorted, poking Blake in the cheek with a metal finger. “What’s that supposed to mean, princess?”

Blake rolled her eyes. “It means you’re a handful sometimes, and it’s starting to rub off on our daughter.”

“Yeah, but you married me.”

Blake smiled fondly at her. “I did, didn’t I.”

Years ago, Blake used to lay wide awake at night and wonder if she'd ever be where she was today, wrapped up in the arms of someone she loved, someone who loved her back, someone who continued to read their daughter bedtime stories when she refused to go to sleep after the first one.

Blake had never thought that she'd actually be here one day, living in her own happily ever after, just like the ones she used to read in stories, stories that she now read to her daughter.

Yang kissed her, sweetly, lovingly.

“I love you, Blake.”

“I love you too, Yang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm going to start writing after this, but I've got two vague ideas that will probably end up becoming fics in the future so we'll see where I go with those.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably the last I'll write for medieval bees. Four fics has been enough to quench my urge for them
> 
> I'll try to update this once a week, which is probably plausible since I have have most of the chapters practically done except for the last one
> 
> Twitter : JacksonCalico  
> Tumblr : calicojackson576


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